It's Not Going to be Easy
by rosexpetals
Summary: Not really sure how to describe this one yet, but enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"And there was this huge crash and I looked around, my heart was thumping," Iain could feel himself losing his breath as got more excited about his story. He flung his arms into the air as he was describing how big this crash was.

Rita, Robyn and Cal all watched on in amazement, their eyes were wide and they were eager to find out what happened next. Cal and Robyn noticed how Iain's eyes were fixed on Rita more so than them but they decided to ignore it as they were more interested in the words spilling out of his mouth.

"So, I turned round and I was making my way over to the sound and then…" Iain stopped when he heard his name. It was Dixie, telling him that he was needed on a shout. He sighed knowing that the story would have to wait until later.

The others groaned in disappointment too. Cal and Robyn sloped off leaving Rita and Iain alone for a couple of seconds. Iain smirked and gave her a cheeky wink before pushing himself off the counter and sauntering over to Dixie who had a stern look on her face. Rita could feel herself blushing as she watched him walk away.

At the end of their shift, the team started to make their way over to the pub. As they were walking – or rather skipping, for some of them – they joined the ambulance crew. Cal and Robyn immediately made their way over to Iain ready to find out the ending. Rita slowly made her way over as she too was interested, although she had completely forgotten what the plot was due to the fact she was too busy thinking about his soft, luscious lips. She cursed herself under her breath.

"So, what happened?" Robyn asked; her voice filled with excitement.

"What?" Iain replied, bemused as to what the small ginger was flapping about.

"The story," Robyn moaned. "What happened in the end?"

"Oh," Iain squinted his eyes trying to think back to the day it happened, he laughed as he remembered. "It turned out to be a cat."

Cal and Robyn looked at each other, their faces filled with disgust.

"You made us wait all day for that?" Cal shook his head. "You can buy our drinks now."

"Well, what can I say? Man full of surprises me," Iain joked, he watched the pair push their way through the door to the pub. He stopped remembering that Rita was still behind him. He held the door open and let the small blonde woman pass. "Ladies first," he winked causing Rita to blush for the second time that day.

"Well thank you," she smiled back. She slipped through the small gap between Iain and the door frame, her shoulder brushed against and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.

The pub was warm and cosy compared to the harsh chill outside. Rita shivered as her body got used to the drastic change in temperature. She made herself comfortable in the seat next to Dixie. She watched Iain as he walked around the table and sat down directly opposite her.

Throughout the whole evening Rita could feel his gaze burning into her. She tried not to catch his eye but sometimes she couldn't help it. As she was speaking to Dixie she felt something brush against her leg, her head snapped up and she could see Iain smirking at her. Feeling herself turning a dark shade of red, she stood up.

"I'm going to get a drink," she mumbled before making her way over to the bar. When she got there she leaned on the wooden frame and ran her fingers through her short hair. She was trying to make sense of everything. _Was he flirting with me? Was I just imagining it?_

"What can I get for you love?" the gruff voice in front of her asked.

Blinking out of her daze she replied, "I'll have lime and soda please."

A shiver was sent across her whole body as she felt a hand press into her lower back. Her gaze followed him as he leaned on the bar, his pint held tightly in his free hand.

"I hope I didn't scare you off," he grinned.

"No," she answered him much quicker than she expected. "Just took me by surprise that's all."

Rita caught his bright green eye as they twinkled in the light. She stared deeply into them; it was like she was falling into some kind of trance. The pounding in her chest was becoming more apparent and the hand on her back was moving further down her body, ever so slightly.

"That'll be £2.50," the barman interrupted their moment. He held the glass out to Rita.

"Thank you," she handed him the money and took a sip of her drink. The cold liquid trickled down her burning throat.

Iain watched her with a goofy grin spread across his face. He nudged her to try and get her attention once again.

"What do you say, you know, we take this somewhere else?" he voice was now hushed and had a deeper tone to it. A tone in which Rita had never heard him speak in before.

Her eyes widened as she finally processed what he was suggesting, "Uh, well…" she paused. "I'd love to. I really would love to. But, the thing is I've got to get up early for the new nurse that's coming tomorrow."

Iain's face dropped slightly.

"I'm sorry," she went on. "Another time?"

"Sounds like a plan," he nodded, a smile returning to his face again.

Rita looked up at the clock. It read 11:21pm. She turned to Iain.

"I best be off then," she leaned over and placed her soft lips on his now very hot cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Rita didn't give him chance to reply before she grabbed her bag and made her way outside. She flashed a smile to him then allowed the door to shut behind her.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Iain chucked to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your lovely reviews!**

 **Sorry for any mistakes.**

 **Chapter 2**

The emergency department doors swung open. In the doorway stood a young; slim woman. Her long, dark chocolate hair flowed down her back. She was wearing a black skirt that hugged her figure tightly and she paired it with a grey, loose-fitting top. On her feet she wore small, black heels. She started making her way towards reception her heels clicking on the floor as she walked.

Noel was sorting through some paperwork trying to get himself organised, the site of the shoes in front of him caused him to snap his head up. He was taken aback as he realised it wasn't Connie. His eyes wandered over the body in front of him, trying to suss this mysterious, gorgeous figure out.

"Can I help you?" He asked, he tried to make his voice sound more seductive but it didn't really work.

She raised her eyebrow as though she were not impressed with his attempts, "I'm looking for Rita Freeman; I have an appointment with her."

"Oh right, you must be the new nurse?"

"Well done genius," she rolled her eyes.

"Ah you must be Emily Roberts," the voice called behind her.

She spun on her heel and was met with the blonde who was holding her hand out to her.

"Rita Freeman, I'm the Clinical Nurse Manager," Rita spoke.

Emily took Rita's hand in her own and shook it firmly.

"It's great to see you again; and thank you for this job," she smiled sweetly, her eyes lighting up.

"Right, how about you get changed into your new scrubs and I'll show you round the place?" Rita guided her in the direction of the changing rooms and handed her a brand new pair of light blue scrubs. "I'll just be at reception when you're done."

Rita made her way back to Noel.

"So, what do you think of her?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, she's fit I'll give you that," he answered, not looking up from the patient notes in front of him.

"But?" Rita encouraged him.

"She was pretty rude."

"I think she'll get better once she knows you Noel."

Rita turned when she heard her name coming from behind her.

"Where shall I put my stuff?" Emily was carrying her bag close to her chest. She had now pulled her hair back into a ponytail and her new scrubs fitted perfectly.

"If you want to follow me," Rita walked through to the staff room, Emily following closely behind. "This will be your locker from now on." She pointed at the last locker on the first row and handed Emily the key.

As she placed her stuff in the locker, the sound of two deep voices trailed into the staff room.

"Ah Cal and Ethan this is our new nurse, Emily Roberts," Rita smiled.

Cal immediately raised his eyebrows and made his way over to her, holding out his hand.

"I'm Caleb Knight," he winked. "But it's just Cal for short."

Emily looked Cal up and down; she didn't seem impressed but shook his hand anyway, so as not to seem too rude.

"Sorry about him," Ethan interrupted. "I find it better to just ignore him. I'm Ethan by the way."

Ethan did not hold his hand out to her; instead he just sat down on one of the stools. Emily watched him, she was glad that he didn't try to make a move on her, or try to seduce her in any way. He was polite and she liked that. Just as she had finished taking in the first impressions of the two men before her, another three people joined them. They too were wearing the same colour uniform as her so she guessed that they were nurses as well.

"Lofty, Robyn, Louise meet Emily," Rita announced. "Right, I'm sure these three will guide you round the place and introduce you to more people, I'm off to a meeting."

As Rita made her way out of the office she bumped into a tall man in a green uniform, she took a step and then realised who it was.

"Oh sorry Iain, should've been looking where I was going," she blushed.

"Ah it's no worries, in a rush anywhere?" he smiled back at her.

"Yes actually I've got a meeting, I'll speak to you later," she turned and made her way out to reception.

Iain watched as she walked away, he grinned and turned to continue his way back to the ambulance. But, as he did so he fell into a young, slim woman with brown hair. Whatever she was carrying in her hands had now gone everywhere.

"Sorry, I should've been looking where I was going," he bent down and started picking up the paper that had been strewn across the floor.

"It's okay it's not your fault," she replied looking up at him. She felt her breath being snatched away as she took in his looks.

Iain too looked up and he smiled as his eyes wandered, he passed her the paper as she tried to make the pile look neat again. "I haven't seen you around here before?"

"No, I'm the new nurse, Emily Roberts. And you are?"

"Iain Dean, one of Holby's finest paramedics," he smirked, holding his hand out.

Emily took it; the contact between the two caused her cheeks to flare a bright red. Iain grinned to himself and bit his lip.

"Well, Iain Dean I hope to see more of you," she winked. It was Iain's turn to blush this time.

"We should have a few celebratory drinks after work and me and you could always sneak off if you like?" He raised his eyebrow, and then burst out laughing. "I'm only joking, I'm not that forward, I like to take things slow but drinks sounds like a good idea!"

"Yeah it does," she nodded. "I honestly don't mind forward men, well as long as I like them back that is." She winked at him then sauntered through to the nurse's station.

Iain shook his head, slightly taken aback as to what just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for your lovely reviews.**

 **Sorry for any mistakes.**

 **Chapter 3**

"What have we got Dixie?" Connie strutted towards the trolley that was being pushed through the doors by Dixie and Iain. On the bed was a patient of about 10 years old, they had a laceration to the head and cuts all down their legs.

Rita turned to Emily, "If you just observe for this one and then you can take the next patient, is that okay?" She asked but Emily seemed distracted. She followed her gaze and seen that it landed on Iain. Rita felt a stabbing pain in the pit of her stomach. "Emily!" She snarled.

Emily snapped her head to look at Rita, "What?"

"Right, if you want to keep this job you have to focus. There are people out there who need treating and they can only achieve that if people like us are dedicated, but if you're going to get distracted at the sight of a young male then I'm sorry but then maybe this isn't the job for you. Just stay out here, I can't have people in my resus who aren't willing to do their jobs properly," Rita shot a look at Iain before following Connie into Resus.

Emily folded her arms, completely shocked at the outburst from Rita. She turned her nose up in disgust. She turned to face Iain once again.

"What is her problem?" She spoke.

"What do you mean?" Iain replied.

"Did you not just see that?" Emily scoffed. "It's my first day, cut me a bit of slack!"

Iain furrowed his brow, "She's just doing her job, and she probably wants you to prove yourself, especially in front of Connie."

"But still, there was no need to shout at me like that," Emily frowned.

"She'll get over it," Iain reassured her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I'll see you later," he said gently before making his way to the ambulance outside.

Just as Iain sat down in the passenger seat; waiting for Dixie. He heard a loud knocking on the window. He flinched and seen that it was Rita standing by the door, a huge frown across her face.

He rolled the glass down and peered out to her. "What?" He asked.

"I understand that you're a very flirtatious person and you have your way with some of the women in this hospital. But, do you mind not distracting my nurses from their jobs!" She folded her arms and glared at him.

"You're kidding right?" He chuckled, but his smile dropped when he seen that Rita was being serious. "Don't you think you were a bit harsh on Emily earlier? It's only her first day, calm down."

"You've only known her for five minutes and you're already defending her," Rita remarked. "I know I had you down as a womaniser Iain, but this is just taking it to a whole new level. Is this some sort of revenge for me? I turned you down so you hop on to the new bait. How gentleman like." She shook her head. "Just get on with your job and stop harassing my staff."

She didn't even give Iain a chance to reply before she stormed back into the ED. Iain just grunted in his seat.

At the end of the day the staff made their way to the pub. Rita decided to catch up with Emily, knowing that she was out of line earlier.

"About today, I'm sorry it's just working in the ED can stress you out and can make me a little bit snappy sometimes," Rita spoke out trying to sound as genuine as possible.

"Well maybe you should consider a career change," Emily hissed.

Rita stopped in her tracks, she took a deep breath. She knew Emily was going to be hard work and now she had her sights set on Iain. She could feel her heart drop at just the thought of them two. They had only just met and they already had a spark. Was there even a spark between herself and Iain? Or was it just the both of them feeling lonely and perking the other one up. She could feel herself growing jealous, a feeling she always despised. She shook her head trying to ignore her thoughts but they weren't going away.

She continued to make her way to the pub and joined the others.

As she stepped into the pub, her cheeks flushed red from the roaring fire inside. She watched as Emily instantly sauntered over to Iain who was propped up against the bar just as he had done the previous night. She could feel her eyes welling, taking another deep breath she settled down on a seat next to Dixie.

For most of the night Rita was in a daze, she was unable to take her eyes off Iain. She observed him and Emily as they would brush up against another, the way he would subtly run his finger along her cheek. A chill ran up her spine as the thought came to her that she could be in that position right now. She could have his hands running along her body as they lay in bed wrapped up in each other's presence.

"Them two have gotten pretty close haven't they?" Dixie spoke causing Rita to flinch.

"What?" She replied coming back to reality.

"Emily and Iain!" Dixie exclaimed. "I thought that would've been obvious considering you've been watching the pair all night."

Rita nodded, not really paying attention to what Dixie was saying.

"If you like him, you better make a move fast before she digs her claws into him," She informed her. They both gazed as Emily made her way towards the bathroom, the two noticed how she didn't take her eyes off Iain until she disappeared completely. "Quick; now's your chance! Get him," Dixie pushed Rita up off her seat and towards the bar.

Rita looked back at Dixie, fixed her hair and then proceeded to join Iain.

"I'll have a lime and soda please," she asked the bartender. She turned to face Iain, "Alright?" She smiled.

"Alright," he replied, winking back at her.

Rita could feel the goose bumps travelling up her arms.

She got distracted when she heard the clicking of the door; Emily was making her way back from the bathroom. She approached Rita and Iain and hooked her arm around his.

"Are you ready to go babe?" She asked him, looking Rita up and down.

"Yeah, sure," he chucked back the last of the contents in his glass before standing up and heading out of the pub, with Emily close to his side. He shot a look back at Rita as he closed the door behind him.

Dixie steadily walked up to Rita and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Well, there's plenty more fish in the sea, hey kiddo?" She tried to reassure. "How's about we do a couple of shots here and then go into town and get absolutely smashed?"

Rita shook her head, "I'm just going to go home and sleep it off." She took a step back from the bar and trudged towards the door.

As she got outside, she pulled the edges of her blazer tighter around her body. She could hear the sound of laughter coming from around the corner, she grimaced as she tried to shake the thought of them two together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Last night was perfect," Emily breathed as she rested her head on Iain's shoulder. "We should do it again."

"Well, there's been worse," Iain joked.

Emily pulled away from him and prodded him in the chest, her mouth wide open in shock.

"I think you'll find that I was the one doing all the hard work," she replied, a smirk on her face.

"Debateable," he bit his lip and got her back by poking her in the side. She let out a huge roar of laughter as she backed away from him.

"Don't! I'm ticklish," she squealed trying to stop his hands. But, Iain was too powerful and by now his hands were running all over body. Her face screwed up as she tried not to make too much noise; not wanting to draw attention to the pair.

As Rita approached the ED she spotted the scene unfolding between the two. She could feel her skin crawl as she watched them. She closed her eyes, trying to block them out and continued towards the hospital.

"Stop, Iain. Please, no," Emily let out in between giggles.

"Alright, alright," Iain smiled backing away from her. "I've got to go to work anyway, don't want to be late."

Iain looked Emily up and down, as though he were undressing her with his eyes. He got closer to her and took hold of her waist. He tilted his head and placed his lips on hers. He lingered for a moment before letting go.

"I'll see you later," he winked. As he turned around he noticed Rita walking past. She had a scowl across her face and he could tell she had been watching them. He felt his stomach drop but he tried to ignore it and carried on walking past her.

As he got into the station Iain was met with a young man leaning on the hood of one of the ambulances. Iain recognised his face straight away and could feel the anger boiling up in him.

"Alright cupcake?" his cockney tone made Iain feel sick.

"What are you doing here?" Iain spat, walking over to him.

"They told me you might need a helping hand, with your partner on a course and that," he grinned at Iain, sensing that he wasn't enjoying his presence.

Iain just rolled his eyes, he had nothing to say. All he knew was that this shift was going to be hard having to put up with Rocker's stupid, repetitive stories. Iain nodded his head before making his way to the locker room.

After getting kitted up, Iain heard the crackly voice on the radio speaking to him. He unclipped the small device from his belt and raised it to his mouth.

"3006 to control received and on our way," he replied. He looked over at Rocker who was already chatting up one of the other paramedics. "Come on, we've got a shout," he shouted out.

Rocker turned to Iain and walked over to join him in the ambulance. "And the dream team is back together." He winked.

"So there was this tunnel collapse last year right, three of us, my mate Bob was there and all. But that doesn't matter because last week I was out with this bird, beautiful she was, really classy. Anyway, I told her that I was a paramedic from HART and she had no clue what I was on about…" Rocker sang, his arms flailing whilst he sat in the passenger's seat.

Iain was driving, he had tried to block out his voice on the way up and it worked but on the way back it was really started to grate on him. His eyes lit up as they pulled into the ambulance bay just outside the hospital doors. He stopped the engine and jumped out and went round the back to help the patient out. As he looked up he could see Rita in the distance, great.

"Right, what's happened?" Zoe asked, retrieving the patient notes from Rocker.

"Okay, this is Trevor Kent, 60 years old, took a stumble on the bottom steps of the stairs…" Iain trailed off.

When Rocker and Iain left resus, he saw Rita standing at reception with Jack.

"Hello there, you must be Iain's plus one," Jack spoke out, offering his hand to Rocker but he completely ignored him.

"Jack, Rita, meet Scott," Iain introduced them.

"Oh my word," Rocker let out as he eyed Rita up. "Mates call us Rocker but you can call me anytime love, night or day," he held her hand in his own.

Rita could feel herself blushing and she had a huge grin on her face.

"Has this been recently disinfected?" he asked pointing down at her hand, Rita didn't reply; she was speechless. "It has? In that case," he pulled her hand towards him and placed a kiss on the back of it.

"Ooh lovely," he let out causing her to laugh.

Iain stood behind them, his face full of anger. The jealousy was growing inside him and he hated it. He watched on as the two carried on flirting with each other right in front him. He was starting to regret his decision of sleeping with Emily. Maybe he had made the wrong decision.

"How about me and you, go for a drink afterwards?" Rocker asked, gently tucking a piece of Rita's hair behind her ear.

Rita bit her lip, "A drink sounds lovely."

Iain heard his radio going off again, "Right, let's roll Romeo," he spat, already making his way towards the door.

"Spoiler," Rocker chuckled, tilting his head in Iain's direction. "I'll see you after work then, Rita." He winked before running to join Iain.

After work Rita waited patiently outside the ED for Rocker. Unfortunately, she had to wait with Emily.

"So, you and Iain?" Rita pondered, trying to make the situation less awkward.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Emily snarled, folding her arms.

"I'm just trying to make conversation," Rita shrugged. "I've already said sorry and I want us to get along, especially because we're working together. Please, I know I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. I'm sorry. Look, I said sorry again."

But, Rita wasn't sorry at all. She hated the fact that she had to apologise when it wasn't her fault Emily was getting distracted by a certain person. However, Rita also hated confrontation and would rather people get along so she was going to be the bigger person.

Emily nodded, "I suppose I have been a bit harsh on you and I'm sorry."

"Right, well I hope we can be friends," Rita smiled gently.

"Yeah, I think we'd make quite a good team."

Rita let out a sigh relief, as she looked up she spotted Iain walking a far distance behind Rocker. She smirked to herself, knowing that if anything did happen between herself and Rocker then Iain would not like it. She made her way over to Rocker.

"Ready?" she grinned.

"You bet," he replied.

Iain stormed over to Emily, "That man, words can't even explain how much I hate it him. I need a cold glass of beer after that shift."

"One cold glass of beer coming right up!" Emily smiled linking her arm with Iain's.

As they made their way to the pub, Iain turned his head and spotted Rita and Rocker walking very close to each other. He grimaced as he tried to shake the thought of them two together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The bright light seeped through the curtains. Rita's eyes peeled open. She took a moment to take in the foreign surroundings. The crisp, light blue sheets pressed against her body; the faint smell of aftershave. She turned her head and noticed the man next to her. At first she was surprised but then she recognised him. Rocker.

She felt her stomach drop as the memories of last night came rushing back to her. Well if there was one thing about Rocker - or Scott being his real name – he was very good and really interesting, to say the least. She hadn't had an experience like that ever before, not even with Mark. Just the mention of his name made Rita's skin crawl.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a growl coming from the pit of her stomach. Looking around the room she could see clothes scattered everywhere. _Wow,_ she thought to herself, _we really couldn't wait._ Carefully, she sat up from her position and leaned over the bed to reprise her top from the floor. Pulling it her over, she then proceeded to put the rest of her clothes on.

She tiptoed out of the room and then down the stairs in search of some food. She tried her best to keep quiet as she explored around downstairs. She was merely surprised at how clean and neat the place was. A glimpse of black tiles caught her eye and decided to follow it. Luckily, her instincts were correct and she had finally discovered the kitchen. Taking a sigh of relief she then started to search the cupboards for something she can eat.

"Hungry?" A gruff voice asked her. Rita jumped out of her skin at the handsome yet very topless man stood in the doorway. Her eyes traced his toned muscles; her cheeks flushed a light pink. She took a moment to collect herself.

"Sit down," he guided her to one of the stools by his breakfast table. "I'll make the breakfast."

Rita bit her lip and smiled to herself as this dark haired man pranced around the kitchen, showing off his culinary skills.

After a couple of minutes Rocker slid a full plate, but delicate plate of sausages, beans and toast in front of her.

"Tuck in," Rocker grinned, as he sat down next to her.

Rita chuckled before grabbing herself a fork and began eating.

 _De-lic-ious! That man can cook and there was no doubt about that._ She gently placed her knife and fork on the plate and took a sip from her drink. She then looked up at him and beamed.

"That was beautiful, thank you," her eyes glanced up at the clock on the wall. Her smile dropped. "Shit! I'm going to be late." She jumped up off her seat and gathered up the rest of her stuff that was all over his house.

She was about to leave but stopped as she reached the door. She turned to face Rocker who had been cleaning up whilst she ran around, rushing so that she wouldn't be late.

"Thank you for last night. I've had lots of fun, and who knows? I might be up for it again," she winked.

Rocker shook his head, "I'm not making you breakfast every morning," he joked. "But a repeat sounds good."

He took Rita by the waist and pulled her close. He leaned in and placed his lips on hers. Rita's arms naturally fell into place around his neck. She smiled as the kiss became more passionate. She pulled away before things got too heated and then she would definitely be late for work.

"I'll see you later," she pecked his lips once more before heading out of the door.

"You would not believe the night I had," Rocker announced, sauntering into the station.

Iain looked up from his mop and just rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what – or rather who – he was on about. He had watched them walk away together and frankly, he did not want to know the gory details of what they got up to. Iain just shrugged his shoulder s and carried on cleaning the floor.

"That Rita is amazing! I'm telling you cupcake, you've missed out big time," he winked.

Iain snapped his head up; his face full of anger. "You what?" he spat.

"Don't lie to me mate, I seen how you were looking at her on my first day. But I'm warning you now, you get any ideas about eventually making a move just remember it's going to be me your dealing with and that bird of yours, Emily. I wouldn't want to mess with her either, all I'm saying," Rocker said sternly before leaving Iain to go to the locker room.

Iain breathed, he could feel the rage growing in him. With his right foot he kicked the bucket across the station; spilling water everywhere.

"Iain?" a caring, young voice called out.

He spun on his heel and was met with a brown-haired woman dressed in blue. Emily. He just shook his head and looked down at the floor.

"Not now," he replied, bending down to retrieve the mop from the floor.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Something is clearly wrong, you can tell me Iain, I mean I am your girlfriend," Emily edged closer to him. She tried to place her hand on his shoulder but he forcefully pushed her off.

"I said not now!" he shouted.

Emily's face was full of hurt as she backed away and ran back to the ED in tears.

Iain sighed, realising he had made a big mistake. He buried his head in his hands as he tried to think of what to do next. Run after Emily and apologise for being an idiot or try and forget everything by throwing himself into his work?

He decided that his second option was his best bet.

 _A couple of hours later…_

"Alright?" Rita asked Iain as she walked into the ambulance station.

"You looking for Rocker?" he answered shortly.

Rita was slightly taken aback, she chewed the inside of her cheek as she tried not to argue back. Blinking slowly, she nodded.

"Yeah, where is he?"

"He's in the locker room," he tilted his head towards the staff room.

Rita started to make her way towards Rocker as she seen him walking into the kitchen but stopped when she heard Iain calling her name.

"What?" she spun on her heel, a spark of anger ran through her voice.

"Just be careful," Iain said quietly so that nobody would hear them.

"Excuse me?" she scoffed, folding her arms and glaring up at him.

"Rocker," he paused. "I'd be careful if I were you. He might look sweet and lovely on the outside but I doubt he's the same on the inside," Iain stepped closer towards her.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, I don't trust him Rita."

"You're jealous aren't you?" Rita ran her tongue along her teeth, which sent a shiver down Iain's spine.

"No!" he retorted. "I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all. And I'm telling you that as a friend. I care about you Rita and I can't bear to see you get hurt by someone like him."

"But, getting hurt by someone like you is perfectly fine?" Rita raised an eyebrow; the adrenaline already pumping around her body.

"That's not fair…"

"No, what isn't fair Iain, is you. You played me, made be believe that you were into me then you jumped on to the next woman to cross your path. You made me feel small, like I was worth nothing in the space of two days so please, excuse me if I sound rude but if you're allowed to have someone and be happy then I'm pretty sure I'm allowed too," Rita shouted.

"Fine, get hurt then, see what I care," Iain remarked before storming off outside.

Rita took a moment to relax herself. She could see Rocker in the corner of her eye. She turned and carried on into the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Rocker asked as she came in.

"Yeah, good shift?" she replied, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"It was alright," he shrugged. "What did Iain want?"

"Oh, he was trying to warn me about you. Telling me that you were _dangerous_ ," she spoke, putting emphasis on the word 'dangerous.'

Rocker stopped what he was doing and faced Rita. He placed his arms around her waist and Rita responded by moving her arms to rest on his shoulders.

"And did you believe him?" he pondered.

"Of course not," she smiled. "He's just jealous because he's stuck with that Emily."

Rocker chuckled, and then leaned in to place his lips on Rita's. They pulled away as they hear the door clicking open.

"Well, that didn't take you long did it?" Dixie smirked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A couple of months later...

"What is your problem now?" he argued, a hint of aggression in his tone.

"My problem?" She retorted. "You're the one making a big deal about it."

"Do you know what, I have had it up to here with you," he pointed his hand to the tip of his head. "I know I've only known you for a couple of months but..." he paused.

"But what?" She asked, folding her arms.

"Just forget it," he turned to leave but she had grabbed hold of his arm to stop him.

"No, tell me!" she demanded.

"It's over! Us, we're finished. I'm done."

Her face dropped.

"It was never really going to work out, now was it?" he sighed.

Tears were brimming in her eyes as she watched him leave. Walking down the street before getting in his car and driving away. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and think things through. But she couldn't stop the tears flowing down her face and leaving big fat droplets on her hands. She could feel herself beginning to shake. If she hadn't started the argument then none of this would've happened. It was her fault. She needed to go after him. She needed to apologise.

Wiping away the wet line that ran along her cheek, she searched the draw for her keys. When she finally found them, she raced out of the house. Not even bothering to lock the door behind her; it didn't matter right now. She didn't care that her hair was all over the place or that she was wearing the most unflattering clothes. All she cared about was finding him.

"It's over," his voice played over and over again in her mind as though it were a scratched record. She could feel the tears coming again as she thought about him more. What she had done wrong. All of a sudden, her vision became blurry and clouded.

The only thing she could remember was the rolling of the car and the crash that followed after it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **I am so sorry for the very long wait! Enjoy…**

The ambulance roared as it pulled up near the crash site. Dixie took a deep breath as she seen the smashed car. Every crash site reminded her of that day; the day she lost everything. She'd obviously been to counselling to stop the vivid memories but any crashed car or van reminded her of Jeffrey Collier.

Shaking her thoughts away, she tried her best to become professional again. Stepping out of the vehicle, her medical kit in her hand; she ran towards the car. As she got closer, she looked through the broken windscreen. A familiar face. Her stomach dropped. She felt her heart thumping in her chest. Rita.

"Iain," she shouted at the top of her voice. "It's Rita!"

Within in a split second of hearing her name, Iain was by Dixie's side. He turned to face Dixie who was just staring at Rita, her body completely frozen. Taking hold of her shoulders, he made Dixie look at him.

"I've got this," he spoke gently. "We need to be quick and I can't have you like this. It won't help me and it certainly won't help Rita. So take a breather, go back to the ambo and phone for back up."

Dixie nodded, knowing that Iain was right. She wanted to help Rita of course but she couldn't do that if she kept being stopped by the memories of Jeff. She slowly turned on her heel and made her way back to the ambulance.

Iain sighed, realising that he was now alone and he had to save Rita. He glanced over to the car. His heart was pounding now. He ran over, slinging his bag down to the floor. He tugged at the car door but it appeared to be jammed. Panicking, he tried and tried again, but nothing. He closed his eyes; taking a moment to collect himself and with all his might he pulled at the door and it swung open. Sighing with relief, he began to call Rita's name in the hope that she would respond in some sort of way.

"Rita," he called. "Can you hear me?"

Taking a small torch from his pocket he carefully pushed Rita's eyelid up and shone the light into her away. There was a slight smile on Iain's face as he watched the pupils respond. But, she wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Right Rita, I'm going to put this oxygen on you," he explained, just in case she could hear him.

He then continued to quickly examine her. Luckily, nothing had been trapped and with the right equipment they could get her out with ease. He placed a collar around her neck and once Dixie had felt more useful she come over to help Iain and the other paramedics. She held Rita's hand and whispered words of comfort to her as the team delicately positioned her on a spinal board to get her out of the car.

The journey in the ambulance was fairly quiet. Both Iain and Dixie too worried and scared to say anything. Iain had been checking Rita every five seconds just to make sure she didn't suddenly go downhill. But, just as they were five minutes away from the hospital the machines attached began to beep rapidly. Iain panicked and started compressions instantly.

"We need to get her to the hospital now," he shouted with frustration. Then, with a more hushed tone, he said to Rita, "You are not doing this, do you hear me? You are not leaving me. I won't let you. I love you."

A couple of minutes later, after Iain had administrated two shocks he finally got her back into the right rhythm just as they pulled up outside the ED.

Iain flopped down into the chair next to the trolley, his eyes slightly red from he had allowed a few tears to escape. Dixie opened the ambulance doors; Zoe standing next to her. Iain watched as Zoe's face dropped in the sudden realisation that it was Rita lying on that bed.

Zoe took a deep, returning to her doctor mode, "Right, what have we got?"

"This is Rita Freeman, 37 years old. She was involved in an RTC…" Dixie trailed off as Iain got the trolley out of the ambulance and pushed it towards resus.

Once they had done the transfer, Iain took a step back but stayed in the room. His face remained expressionless as he watched Zoe and the rest of the team rush around the blonde woman.

"I think we should go, they're going to need some space to work," Dixie nudged him. She was fully aware of the situation between Rita and Iain. She had seen the sparks on Iain's first day in Holby City. She knew they had developed feelings for each other, despite them both being in separate relationships. She knew that they had tried to hide and fight their feelings for one another by arguing all the time. She knew that Rita being in an accident would break him.

Iain didn't reply, he just continued to stare at the body on the bed. Dixie nodded, she understood. Giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, she left resus.

As she was walking out, she could see Emily approaching her.

"Ah Dixie!" Emily let out. "Is Iain with you?"

Dixie rolled her eyes, she had never liked Emily and the way she always treated Rita made her stomach turn.

"He was, he's just nipped to the loo before we go on another shout," she lied, pointing towards the radio that hung on her belt.

Emily smiled, sensing that that wasn't the truth. But, she was too busy to worry over it so she just replied with an "Okay" and "When you see him, tell him we need to talk," before going back to the job she was supposed to be doing.

In the time that Dixie had managed to keep Emily as far away from Iain has possible, Zoe had surveyed Rita and was satisfied that everything seemed clear. She was now stable and slowly waking up.

Zoe looked out at Iain; she too had an idea about their feelings for each other but didn't really question either of them with her love life being complicated as well.

"You can see her for a bit before she goes up for her CT scan," she spoke quietly as she walked over to him. "She'll be a bit groggy from the morphine but she should be able to make some sort of conversation."

Iain let out a sigh of relief; he ran his hands through his hair as he quickly tried to think of what he was going to say to her. Once it was just them in resus – bar the odd nurse or doctor that came in to check up on other things – Iain stood by the side of her bed and took hold of her hand, being careful not to move too many wires. Rita's eyes flickered at his touch.

"Rita?" Iain whispered. "It's me. It's Iain."

Rita let out a groan, unable to form any words at the moment. She tried to open her eyes, her vision was slightly blurry but as she blinked a few times everything seemed to settle. Her eyes darted around the place as she took in her surroundings. Her heart dropped as they stopped on Iain.

"Iain?" she could hardly speak, her voice was croaky and her throat was dry.

Iain smiled, "Yeah, that's me."

She took a small breath, slightly wincing in pain, "I love you too," she let out. And then she closed her eyes once again.

Iain raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened with shock. He was taken back and he was not expecting her to say that. He could feel his heart racing; she had heard what he said in the ambulance. The thoughts ran through his mind; _I love you too._ How was he going to reply?

Just as Iain opened his mouth to say something, the resus doors swung open. A panicked man stood in the doorway.

Rocker ran towards Rita's bedside, "Rita! Are…are you okay? I am so sorry. I didn't mean what I said this morning."

Iain immediately let go of Rita's hand and backed away. Rocker looked up as Iain tried to leave.

"No," Rocker snarled. "What were you doing in here?"

Iain closed his eyes slowly, "I was just checking to see if Rita was okay, that's all."

"You were holding her hand," he glared at Iain.

"I was comforting he…" he was interrupted as Rocker started to square him up.

"You stay away from her! Do you understand me?" he spat before pushing Iain away and going back to Rita.

If this had been any other situation Iain would've fought back but he knew that it wasn't fair on Rita, she had been put through enough already. But, he wasn't defeated; he was going to rescue Rita from that retched man, even if it killed him. As he left resus and walked through reception, he bumped into Emily. His face dropped, she was certainly someone he didn't want to see today.

"Where have you been?" she asked, folding her arms. There was a hint of anger in her voice.

"Not now," he tried to walk past her but she stopped him.

"What is going on?" she argued.

Iain rolled his tongue along the edges of his lip, "You want to know what is going on? I'll tell you shall I? One of my greatest friends was in a car accident today; she was in a pretty bad way. So I am sorry if I didn't devote my attention to you but I have other priorities. And if you can't accept that then I don't think we are going to work," he shouted, causing everyone to look at them.

"What?" Emily took a step back, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Us, we're over! Done, finished. I have had enough; just leave me alone, okay?" Iain turned and stormed out of the ED, leaving Emily on her own with many pairs of eyes glaring at her.


End file.
